TRADITION?

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In today’s devotional, we begin a three-part study of the message of a great interaction Jesus Christ had with both the religious of his day, as well as with his own disciples. In this back-and-forth, we are taught several powerful truths that we would do well to take on board. 

Let’s get into the teaching by reading the following:

1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 

3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. ) 

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 

9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 

10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) — 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 

13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

(Mark 7:1-13 NIV11)

Handwashing

Before you assume that Jesus and the disciples were being rebellious to the law or intentionally disregarding cleanliness, we need to understand a bit more about this issue of handwashing. 

The custom of the day, as well as for the modern orthodox Jewish man or woman, was to pour water over the backs of one’s hands prior to eating or drinking anything. The idea came from a rabbinical teaching that stressed the need to come before God with clean hands and a clean heart. The washing was less about hygiene and more about reflection on turning one’s heart to God. 

But as with so many things in life, this good idea turned into something that it was never intended to become. It became a must, a law, a rule, and a tradition that was followed without reference to the original intent.

Traditions

In verse five, we hear that the accusers of the disciples and of Jesus Christ were appalled at the lack of concern for what they considered to be essentials for any good Jewish man or woman. They allowed their own particular traditions to turn into inviable rules that they assumed any faithful person should follow. 

Before we think about the response that Jesus gave, let us stop and think about our own set of rituals and traditions when it comes to what we call proper worship, good prayer, and faithful service to the Lord. 

•   We all have expectations of what a good church should look like, sound like, feel like, and even smell like. 
•   We have expectations of what kinds of music are right and proper for real worship. 
•   We have expectations about how a church should practice communion, baptism, and prayer. 

We are not so different from these people who were lost in their traditions and who could not see the gift of grace standing before them because of their missed expectations. 

Rebuke

In verses ten to thirteen, Jesus Christ examines the accusations being laid upon his disciples and upon himself. He makes it plain that these traditions do not come from the Lord and that when they allow these customs to be the most important issue in their lives, they fail to understand the truth of the law of God. 

Jesus uses their custom of dedicating the wealth that would have been spent on caring for one’s parents to the Lord as an offering as a way of showing the foolishness of these traditions. How is it loving for the child to refuse to care for their parents who are in need because they previously gave an offering in the temple?

Jesus challenges them to see which issue God really cares about most. Surely the Lord wants his people to love and honor their parents more than the Lord would want anyone to give an unnecessary offering.  

Nullify

The point that I hope we call take away from this teaching for today is summed up in the following passage:

13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

(Isaiah 29:13 NIV11)

•   If we have any such expectation, tradition, or custom, may the Lord open our eyes so that we might see the truth and avoid being joined with those who bring dishonor to God. 
•   Ask the Lord to help you set aside your human rules so that you might embrace the gift of God’s grace and mercy. 
•   Come to the Lord in prayer and be set free from these traps. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

Worked at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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